


Just Say Yes

by prydon



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Marriage Proposal, No it may not go as expected, Other, Peter Nureyev Needs a Hug, Yes this is a proposal fic, but please bear with me I promise it ends happily!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:53:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27514885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prydon/pseuds/prydon
Summary: "The thing is…I don’t think Ransom realizes I’m okay with it," Juno says. "I haven’t talked a lot about my…past relationships with him, but he gets the gist. I’m worried that he wants to propose but thinks it might, I donno…make me uncomfortable.”“Then tell him you’d be happy to marry him!”“I can’t do that! I don’t want him to know I know!”“Well, then…” A sly smile crosses Rita’s face. “Why don’t you just propose to him first?”
Relationships: Peter Nureyev/Juno Steel
Comments: 54
Kudos: 222





	Just Say Yes

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by me loving Jupeter proposal fic but then having the thought that uhhhhh Nureyev sure does have a lot on his mind right now, doesn't he?
> 
> No major CWs for this one, just Juno and Nureyev-typical struggles with self worth and brief reference to past suicidal ideation and past abusive relationships.
> 
> Title is from [Just Say Yes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljjBbq4DjhM&ab_channel=DanielJames) by Snow Patrol, which yes is a song that I downloaded ten years ago because it was used for the trailer of a terrible rom-com I liked, and yes is also the only song I could think of whose lyrics suit this fic.

Out of all the possible ways he could have realized it, it is a comment from Vespa that makes the lightbulb first appear above Juno’s head.

It’s an offhand sentence, growled when they’re both getting ready for a heist and he’s just informed her of what his and Nureyev’s cover identities are going to be.

“If that thief makes the two of you pretend to be married one more time, I’m gonna force him to propose to you myself.”

Juno furrows his brow. “What?”

“Just seems a little heavy-handed, doesn’t it?” she groans. “I mean, if he wants to be married to you so badly, he might as well do it for real.”

The conversation moves on quickly after that, to the logistics of what “Mr. and Mrs. LeRoi” are going to have to do on the mission, but Juno can’t stop thinking about what she said. It’s true, after all: practically every time Nureyev has the opportunity to craft their aliases, they’re either engaged or married. Sometimes they’re newlyweds, other times they’re jaded partners who sleep in different beds, but there are almost always rings involved.

Even the very first ‘heist’ they did together, back at the Oasis, was with Duke and Dahlia Rose. Nureyev had seemed so delighted to play the part of a husband, waxing poetic about his ‘Dahlia dearest’.

Juno doesn’t really know how he didn’t realize it before.

_Nureyev likes to be married._

Juno isn’t sure how to feel about that. He’s…almost been married before, and there are memories from that time that still weigh heavily on his shoulders. Most days he doesn’t want to think about them. He swore on that night, when he’d ripped off his wedding dress and shoved it into the back of the closet, that he was never going to be engaged again.

He was a different lady then, though. The idea doesn’t scare him so much anymore, especially not when it comes to Nureyev. If Nureyev wants to get married…who is Juno to deny him that, just because of some silly hang ups from years and years ago? He already knows he’s going to love that man for the rest of his life. What difference does a ring make, except that it might make Nureyev happy?

Juno becomes more and more certain of what’s going on as days pass. Sometimes they’ll be out at a restaurant or sitting in the sim-grass on a brand new planet pointing out shapes in the clouds, and a nervous look will cross Nureyev’s face. He’ll start fidgeting and casting sideways glances at Juno, even opening his mouth like he’s going to say something before hastily closing it again. It doesn’t take a detective to guess there’s something on the tip of his tongue.

“I think Ransom’s going to ask me to marry him,” he says absently to Rita one evening, when they’re alone in her room painting each other’s nails.

“What?!” she exclaims, nearly dropping the polish and spilling it all over both of them. “Oh my GOSH Mistah Steel! That’s amazing! What are you going to wear to the wedding? A suit? A dress? _Both?_ Is it going to happen on the ship, or at a venue, or- OH, are you telling me this because you’re going to ask me to be your maid of honor, because if you are, then the answer is obviously-”

“I said _going to,”_ Juno interrupts her. “He hasn’t actually asked yet. And I…haven’t said yes yet, or anything.”

“Oh.” She hesitates. “…Are you gonna say yes, Mistah Steel?”

He’s quiet for a moment before he finally says, “Yeah. Yeah, I think so.”

“Oh, _boss!”_

“I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it, and I think I’m ready. I still don’t really get why someone like him would want to marry me, but I’m not gonna question it anymore. It doesn’t…it doesn’t have to be a huge thing. I just think it’d be nice.” He scratches his neck. “Ransom is…well, you’ve seen him. He’s kind of…”

“A sappy romantic?” Rita supplies excitedly.

“Yeah. That. I’ve never really understood the whole ‘big romantic gestures’ idea, like flowers and wedding ceremonies and all that, but…he likes them. He likes going to restaurants on couples’ nights, and giving me jewelry, and putting rose petals on the bed before-”

“Mistah Steel, you know I love you two, but I don’t really wanna hear about bed stuff.”

“My _point_ is…I think it’d make him happy. To, uh…be married to me.”

She nods. “Yeah, you’re probably right. So?”

“So…what?”

“Would it make you happy, too? ‘Cause if you’re asking me whether you should say yes to Mistah Ransom’s proposal, that’s what really matters. It’s good that it’d make him happy, duh, but you shouldn’t do it just for him. It’s gotta be good for you, too.”

“Well, yeah, I know that!” Juno says indignantly, but then he softens and slumps back onto the bed. He can’t exactly blame her for worrying. The last time he got engaged, he’d hardly thought to consider his own feelings at all. He knows better now, though. “It…it would make me happy, Rita. I already know I wanna be with him forever, anyway. Might as well make it official, right?”

Rita’s face lights up again. _“Awwwww!”_

He rolls his eye. “Yeah, yeah. The thing is…I don’t think Ransom realizes I’m okay with it. I haven’t talked a lot about my…past relationships with him, but he gets the gist. I’m worried that he wants to propose but thinks it might, I donno…make me uncomfortable.”

“Then tell him you’d be happy to marry him!”

“I can’t do that! I don’t want him to know I know!”

“Well, then…” A sly smile crosses Rita’s face. “Why don’t you just propose to him first?”

“…What.”

“Why not? You know he wants to marry you, he just ain’t sure that you wanna marry him. What’s the best way to let someone know you wanna marry ‘em? Proposing, obviously!” Her smile widens to a beam. “Oh my gosh, it could be like one of the videos where one member of the couple proposes and then the other pulls out a ring ‘cause they were planning to propose too! Those are my favorites!”

“I donno. Isn’t that kind of…stealing his thunder?”

“Nuh-uh, Mistah Steel. Like we said, Mistah Ransom’s a romantic, and there ain’t nothing more romantic than that!”

All of a sudden the idea doesn’t feel so ridiculous after all. Juno’s heart is beating hard in his chest, but he realizes it’s from excitement, not nerves or stress. “…Okay.”

“Okay?”

A grin spreads across his face. “Okay!”

Suddenly, he’s engulfed in Rita’s short, warm arms as she hugs him. “Oh, Mistah Steel, I’m so proud of you! You and Mistah Ransom are gonna be the best husband and wife ever!”

“And you’re going to the best maid of honor.”

Her hands fly over her mouth. “Really?”

“Uh, duh. Who else would be?”

She loses the ability to speak coherently at that point, and just makes excited noises into his shoulder. It feels good, seeing her this happy. It’s the polar opposite of how she reacted when he’d told her that he and his previous fiancé were getting married. She’d looked anxious and concerned, then, full of questions about whether he was sure it was the right thing and they were the right person. Rita’s approval now means a lot.

“Shit,” he says. “I guess I’d better find a ring, then.”

Shopping for Nureyev is never easy. The thief has a million different faces with a million different preferences, and even after months Juno still isn’t entirely sure which are genuine and which are fabrications. As he walks through the jewelry shop he managed to sneak away to during a stay on Mercury, he finds himself noting rings that’d be perfect for Rex Glass or Duke Rose or Monsieur Dauphin, but not a single one that makes him think _Peter Nureyev._

Who is Nureyev, under all that smoke and all those mirrors? He’s not sure the man himself even knows.

In the end, he finds himself going back to a simple silver band inlayed with a pattern of stars. Its far from ostentatious; it doesn’t even have any stones in it. It’s high quality, but not pricey. He runs a finger over it, thinking. A year ago he would have thought it was way too plain, but he knows the man behind the masks better now, and it feels…right.

He doesn’t know Nureyev’s ring size, but he takes a guess, knowing that they can always get it adjusted later if need be.

“Am I right in assuming you’re planning to make a special someone very happy?” the cashier asks, smiling at him as she hands him his receipt.

Juno imagines Nureyev putting the ring on his finger like he has so many times before for so many aliases- except this time it’s real. This time he doesn’t have to play pretend at marriage, and he can call Juno his wife in complete earnest. He imagines the joy that Nureyev exuded at Duke Rose but amplified by the knowledge that this is reality, and it is forever.

He can’t help but smile back at her. “Yeah. Yeah, I think I am.”

He’s tired of hurting the people he loves, he decides as he tucks the ring box deep into his coat pocket. He’s not going to do it anymore. He just wants to make them happy.

He isn’t going to wait around for them to drag him forward into the next step of their relationship, either. It took years of Rita insisting they were friends before he even accepted that much. He isn’t going to make Nureyev wait any longer to be able call himself Juno’s husband. He’s not going to let the man continue to walk on eggshells, unable to ask the question for fear that Juno might get spooked and leave.

In some ways, this is an apology, he realizes.

He’s already apologized in words, but this is him apologizing in actions. This is him saying: _I know I left you once. I know I hurt you. I’m never going to do that again, though._

Juno is never going to leave again.

He’s going to prove that.

Once he has the ring burning a hole in his pocket, it’s only a matter of finding the right time to do it.

Juno has no idea how, or when. He’s never been on this side of a proposal before. It’s…daunting. He knows that Nureyev doesn’t need it to be some grand romantic gesture, but he wants to at least make it special. It’s what the man deserves, after everything.

He finally gets his chance one week when they’re docked on Titan, squatting in an abandoned vacation house next to a sim-lake. It’s a quiet, peaceful place, and Saturn is visible in the sky in all its glory.

On one evening, several days before their next heist, the others take advantage of the day off to explore the moon. Jet goes to the shops to look for replacement parts for the ship, and Vespa and Buddy leave for a romantic outing in a nearby town. Rita is the only one who insists on staying home, as one of her favorite streams is having a 24-hour marathon that she apparently can’t miss despite already having bought and downloaded the entire series onto her comms.

“Oh! Oh! You and Mistah Ransom can watch it with me!” she suggests excitedly to Juno and Nureyev.

Nureyev chuckles and shakes his head. “Apologies, Rita, but I have other plans in mind. I think Juno and I are going to have a picnic by the lake.”

“Aww, but I don’t get good reception out there! Well, maybe if I rig myself a hotspot…”

He clears his throat. “Juno and I are going to have a picnic by the lake… _alone.”_

 _“Oh!”_ Rita gasps and covers her mouth. “Like a date! That’s so cute! You guys should go on a double date with Captain A and Miss Ilkay sometime, you know.”

“Yeah, don’t think Vespa would be too happy about that,” Juno says, but he can’t keep from grinning anyway.

A picnic by the lake. It’s the first he’s heard about it, but now that he has, he’s feeling excited. He likes restaurants all right, and he knows Nureyev enjoys them, but the privacy of a picnic…it sounds nice.

Not only that, but it’s a perfect opportunity to finally pull out the ring like he’s been planning to for weeks. He wonders if Nureyev is thinking the same, and silently resolves that if the man has any intentions to propose tonight, Juno is going to beat him to it.

“I’ll leave you lovebirds to it, then!” Rita says happily. “Except…er, Mistah Ransom, what are you and Mistah Steel gonna have to eat on this picnic?”

“Oh, not to worry, Rita,” Nureyev says. “I have the whole meal planned out.”

“Mistah Ransom, I ain’t sure-”

He pats her on the shoulder and says, “I ordered take out from a nearby café. It’ll be arriving in an hour.”

“Oh. Oh, yeah, that’s good. It’s just cause the last time you tried to make a meal from scratch-”

“All in the past now,” he says airily, then smiles at Juno. “So, my love, will you meet me outside in an hour and ten minutes? I’ll have everything set up by then.”

“Yeah. Okay,” Juno says, and he doesn’t know whether his face is heating up just from Nureyev’s smile or at the thought of what he’s going to do tonight.

He kisses Nureyev, to Rita’s delight, and then they part ways- Nureyev to ready the picnic and Juno to ready himself.

He finds himself pacing his bedroom, changing in and out of outfits like a teenager trying to decide what to wear on a first date. It’s embarrassing, really, but he can’t help it. Nureyev may or may not know it, but this is a big moment, and he wants it to be perfect. Some tiny, self-confident part of him that he’s been working very hard to cultivate for the past year is pleased by the thought that if he chooses the right outfit, Nureyev will be rendered utterly smitten.

In the end, he caves and pokes his head out of the room to hiss, _“Rita.”_

She looks up from where she’s curled on the couch, watching her stream. “Uh-huh, Mistah Steel?”

“Could you come here for a second? I need your help with something.”

“Mistah Steeeeel, the marathon’s on!”

“…Please?”

She sighs. “Well, only ‘cause you asked nicely, and because this episode’s my least favorite. I only got twenty minutes, though, ‘cause the next one is the best of the season.”

“Fine, fine. Just get in here. I need your…input.”

She puts her comms to sleep, bounces off the couch and walks into his room. “What’s up, then- _Aggggh,_ Mistah Steel!” Her hands fly to cover her eyes. “Why are you naked?!”

“Oh my god, Rita. I’m not naked.” He’s currently sitting down on the bed, dressed in only his boxers and bra. “We’ve known each other for fifteen years. You can handle seeing me in my underwear.”

“Just because I _can_ doesn’t mean I _wanna-”_

“You’ve seen me in less, you know,” Juno points out.

“Not on purpose, and please don’t remind me of that. I’m still trying to bleach it from my mind.”

“Look, I just need you to tell me which one of these looks better.” He gestures at two articles of clothing hanging on the wardrobe, the first a floaty pale blue romper and the second a floral patterned sundress. “I keep changing in and out of them but I can’t make a decision. Figured I’d get a second opinion.”

Rita immediately uncovers her eyes and grins hugely, all embarrassment apparently forgotten. “Aw, I’m so happy you want my opinion, Boss! And you should, too, ‘cause I just spent all last week watching season 22 of _Project Runway: Pluto_ , so I’m basically an expert now. Just leave it to Rita!”

“Yeah, I’m regretting this already,” Juno says, halfway into pulling the sundress over his head. 

“There’s just one thing I can’t help but wonder, though.”

“Uh-huh?”

“Why do you care so much about which one you’re gonna wear? It’s only Mistah Ransom who’s gonna see you, and he likes you in anything.”

Juno’s face grows hot again. He busies himself with tying the halter straps behind his neck and avoids her eyes. “I just…want everything to be perfect, that’s all.”

“It’s Mistah Ransom’s picnic, anyway, so _he’s_ the one who oughta make sure everything’s perfect for you- Oh. Oh, Mistah Steel.”

His face is positively burning now. “You can’t say anything to him, all right? No acting weird, either. Actually, please don’t even be in the same room as him until after I do it, or else you’ll definitely give it away.”

“Mistah Steel, you’re doing it? _Tonight?”_

He shrugs, a sheepish smile crossing his face. “Might as well, right? I’ve had the ring for weeks now.”

“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh-”

“Rita.”

“Right, right, sorry. Congrats, Mistah Steel! Mistah Ransom’s gonna be _so_ happy!”

“Yeah, I hope so,” Juno says, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking away. It feels too cocky, almost, to agree that someone might be happy about the idea of being with Juno Steel forever. A couple of years ago he would have completely rejected the idea.

Now, though…he knows he makes Nureyev happy. He isn’t sure about everything, but he is sure about that.

Rita gasps loudly, interrupting his thoughts. “Mistah Steel!”

“…What is it now?”

She gestures excitedly at him. “You _gotta_ wear this dress! It has _pockets!_ I don’t even needa see the other outfit!”

“You think it looks good?”

“I think you look like a very handsome lady right now, boss. Plus, with the pockets you have somewhere to put the ring!”

“I was just going to wear my coat over-”

“Nope. Nuh-uh. No coat. You’re going like this. Oh! One second.”

She sprints out of the room and Juno watches her go, bemused. She’s back within a minute, holding a wide brimmed sun hat. She stands on the tips of her toes to place it on Juno’s head, then steps back and beams. “Now you look perfect.”

Juno turns to the mirror, studying himself. He definitely doesn’t look…bad. “Thanks, Rita.”

“You’re very welcome! Now I gotta go ‘cause otherwise I’m gonna miss the episode where Sherry confesses her love to Barbara while they’re riding the ski lift on Phobos-”

He doesn’t listen to the rest of her rant, but he can’t help wearing a fond expression as he watches her shuffle back to the couch. He throws on a pair of sandals and his favorite earrings, and by the time he’s gotten his hair to sit the way he wants it to under the hat, Nureyev has returned from setting up the picnic.

“Everything’s ready out here, love,” Nureyev says. “Are you?”

“Uh-huh. One second, Ransom.”

He grabs the ring box and pockets it. It’s so light within the folds of the dress, despite the weight of what it represents. He takes a deep breath and walks out to the foyer, where Nureyev is leaning against the doorframe and looking him up and down with an awed expression.

“Oh, my dear detective. Has anyone ever told you that you’re absolutely _stunning?”_

“Uh-huh. You. About a million times,” Juno says, but he’s biting back a smile.

Nureyev is looking at him like someone might look at a particularly beautiful work of art, and another Juno might have felt uncomfortable with that, overwhelmed by the weight of an admiration he didn’t feel he deserved. Current Juno, on the other hand…mostly just feels nice.

Nureyev pulls him into a gentle kiss, slipping a hand around his waist. For a moment Juno panics, thinking he might accidentally discover the ring, but the kiss ends quickly and Nureyev immediately takes him by the arm to lead him to the picnic.

The artificial sun projected onto the dome that protects them from the harsh void of space is low in the sky now, casting glittering lights across the lake. Nureyev has lain down a blanket just beside it, laden with what is surely too much food and wine for only two people. Juno recognizes the food instantly- it’s classic southern Venusian cuisine, the kind that he’s only had once before.

“Of course it’s not going to be as good as the meal we ate on Venus, since it isn’t the genuine article, but…well, when I saw the restaurant here I couldn’t resist,” Nureyev says. “The last time we had Venusian was such a lovely evening, after all.”

“Yeah. I guess that was sort of…our first date,” Juno realizes. It feels wrong, after everything they went through together with Miasma, to call a dinner at a random café on Venus sandwiched between heists the beginning of their relationship, but…in a way, it was. It was the first time they’d gone out without any purpose other than to spend time together as a couple.

Nureyev clears his throat. “You know, yesterday marks a year since that dinner.”

“What?! We just missed it! Wish we’d realized that sooner.”

“I…ah, I was aware of the date.” Nureyev averts his eyes, fiddling with a loose string on the picnic blanket. “I considered saying something yesterday, but I was uncertain whether it would mean anything to you.”

“Are you kidding, Nureyev? That’s…I mean, it’s basically our anniversary. Of course it means something to me.”

“Oh. Good.”

While ‘bashful’ is not a word that Juno ever thought could describe Peter Nureyev, it certainly suits the expression he’s wearing now, as if he just professed a crush and is relieved to learn his feelings are reciprocated. It’s adorable, but it also makes Juno’s heart ache. He doesn’t want Nureyev to ever think Juno isn’t just as invested in their relationship as he is, even though he isn’t as good at romantic gestures or remembering dates.

“How about we call this our anniversary celebration, then?” Juno says.

“Please, Juno. If I’d meant this to be an anniversary celebration, I would have gone to much further lengths-”

Juno rolls his eye, laughing. “This is perfect, baby. It’s more than enough.”

Nureyev lets out a huff. “Very well, then.”

The thief’s knees are folded neatly under him, his back straight, and the gold embellishments on his suit are glittering in the dying sunlight. How he manages to make even sitting on a gingham picnic blanket look regal, Juno doesn’t know, but he’s suddenly overwhelmed with gratitude that he’s afforded the honor of calling this man his own.

His feelings must show on his face, because Nureyev tilts his head and asks, “What is it?”

“Nothing. I just love you.”

“Ah.” Nureyev flushes slightly, like he does without fail every time Juno says it, and Juno wonders vaguely how he managed to survive forty years without him by his side. “I love you, too.”

Despite the lack of authenticity, the Venusian cuisine is delicious. They mutually agree to avoid talk about work while they eat, and Nureyev instead regales Juno with his personal top ten list of best sushi bars in the galaxy. Once he’s finished with his ranking and they’re tucking into dessert, Juno reveals his own list of top ten worst locations to get stabbed in Hyperion City.

“Please tell me you didn’t actually get stabbed in all of those places,” Nureyev says, giving him a concerned look over his wine glass.

“Of course not,” Juno says. “I actually got shot in some of them. ‘S just easier to call the list ‘top ten worst locations to get stabbed’ than to call it ‘top ten worst locations to get stabbed _or_ shot’.”

“Oh, love. It’s times like now that I wish I’d known you much longer, so I could’ve prevented any of those wretched people from laying a finger on you.”

“Says the guy who constantly says my scars are sexy.”

“I can think they’re sexy while also wishing you’d never had to receive them!”

Juno laughs. “Well, you couldn’t be around then, but…you’ve got me now, at least.”

“Yes. Yes, I suppose I have,” Nureyev says softly. He gets a distant look in his eye and starts fidgeting with his coat, buttoning and unbuttoning the clasps and checking his pockets.

Juno recognizes the behavior, and he knows what it means. This is Nureyev when he wants to say something but isn’t sure whether he should, and Juno has seen him like this all too often lately, usually when they’re alone in some beautiful place and have just been talking about their relationship.

A grin sneaks across Juno’s face.

_If you won’t ask, then I will._

“Hey,” he says, taking Nureyev’s wine glass from him and setting it down. “I gotta tell you something.” He stands up and pulls Nureyev to his feet with him.

The thief is giving him a quizzical, cautious look. “Juno, is something wrong?”

“Ha. No. Actually, something’s…really, really right.”

Nureyev frowns. “What?”

“You,” Juno says. “You and me, and…all of this. Nureyev, a year and a half ago I was in maybe the darkest part of my life. I didn’t know how long I was gonna live, or even if I…if I wanted to. I was so sure I was never going to see you again, and I didn’t really think I’d deserve it if I did.”

“Oh, _Juno,”_ Nureyev says, and Juno has never heard another person able to pack so much feeling into two small syllables.

“I never even let myself imagine that you might be able to forgive me, or…that I could forgive myself,” he continues. “But…we’re here. You and I. We’re together. We’ve been together for a _year._ I can barely believe that. I used to…I used to assume that whenever I was happy, that feeling couldn’t last forever. That everyone I loved would get tired of me eventually. I don’t think that anymore, though. I love our family here, and god…I love you. So, so much. I’m not afraid to say that anymore.”

Nureyev smiles, and it isn’t the knowing smirk or the bored grin that he gives to marks; it’s wide and open and happy. “I love you too, Juno Steel.”

“I know. Fuck, I know, and I’m not afraid to hear it anymore, either.” Juno takes a deep, shaky breath. “I want this…I want you. For as long as possible.”

“Forgive me, dear detective, but what did I do to deserve such beautiful words? Not that I’m not treasuring every one of them, of course, but I feel rather unprepared-”

“You don’t have to say anything. Like Rita keeps telling you, it doesn’t always have to a trade. Just…let me do this.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the box.

Nureyev’s eyes follow his hand and widen slightly, and for a moment Juno is sure he’s figured out what’s coming, but then he says, “Had I known you were going to give me a gift, I would have-”

“Could you hush for one moment?” Juno says, holding back a laugh. “Besides, this is as much a gift for me as it is for you.”

“Juno, I don’t under-”

 _“Shush,_ Nureyev.”

Nureyev’s mouth finally clamps shut, and Juno looks him in the eye as he slowly sinks down on one knee. His dress is definitely going to be covered in grass stains after this, but that’s the last thing he’s concerned with right now. “The second job we ever did together, we did it as Duke and Dahlia Rose. You called me your wife then, and…well, dozens of times since. But never when…you were you, and I was me.”

Nureyev is stock still now, staring down at him like he can’t quite believe what he’s seeing.

“I don’t want you to have to be Duke Rose or Monsieur Dauphin or whoever for you to call me your wife,” Juno continues. “I want to hear it from you. From Peter Nureyev, to Juno Steel. All right?”

Nureyev opens his mouth, then closes it again, and Juno realizes this is the first time he’s ever seen the man actually speechless.

“So…” He holds up the ring box and opens it. The silver band shines in the light of the setting sun, which has turned the sky a brilliant pink and orange. “Will you marry me?”

Nureyev’s eyes are as wide as saucers. It takes him a moment, but he finally finds his voice again. “Juno…but…I…I thought you wouldn’t want to…”

“Well, you thought wrong,” Juno says. “Of course I want to marry you, Nureyev. More than anything.”

“O-oh.”

There’s a moment of quiet. Juno is half expecting Nureyev to pull out his own ring box and offer it, just like the videos Rita mentioned. He keeps waiting, though, and nothing happens. They just stare at each other. “Er, not to rush you, babe, but…are you going to give me an answer?”

He squints at Nureyev, whose expression is hard to read now that he’s silhouetted by the sun, and slowly realizes something: Nureyev is crying.

Juno has never seen Nureyev cry before outside of the confines of his teenage memories- not once. He’s come close on several occasions, but the few times the tears threatened to actually leave his eyes, he was quick to exit the room and hole up somewhere no one could see him. Even after almost a year of being together, it’s a side of Nureyev that Juno hasn’t been made privy to…until now.

There’s something nice about that, Juno decides- if Nureyev is going to cry in front of another person for the first time in years, they deserve to be tears of happiness.

Then he realizes something else.

Nureyev doesn’t look happy.

“Juno, I…why are you doing this?” he chokes out.

“I told you why. Because I love you, and I want to be with you,” Juno says, but his heart is pounding in his ears, because something is wrong and he doesn’t know what. “Forever.”

This was supposed to be an apology, a promise, a declaration- it was supposed to make Nureyev smile like he had during that dinner on Venus, when they first decided to make their relationship official. Like Duke had smiled at Dahlia.

It wasn’t supposed make him look like he does now, as though Juno has just plunged a knife into his chest.

“Don’t,” Nureyev whispers. “Just…don’t. Don’t do this to me.”

“Don’t do _what?_ Nureyev, come on, what are you-”

The thief swipes vainly at the tears on his cheeks and the smokey trails of mascara they left there. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”

Juno is still down on one knee in the grass as Nureyev turns and walks away.

He doesn’t watch Nureyev leave. He stays frozen in place as the artificial sun sinks below the horizon, his heart an aching mass of shock and confusion in his chest. It’s a long time before he can move again, and slowly closes the ring box and slips it back into his pocket.

He cleans up the picnic and drifts back to the house like a ghost, transparent and numb. He’d imagined this night going a lot of ways, but this…even his tendency to catastrophize hadn’t prepared him for this, hadn’t prepared him for the look on Nureyev’s face at being offered the ring. Hadn’t prepared him for the tears.

Rita is at the door as he reaches it, beaming at him. “Mistah Steel! Did…you…”

She trails off when she sees his expression.

“Leave it, Rita,” he says, and his voice comes out thick.

“But I don’t understand-”

“I said _leave it.”_

For once she listens, and her mouth snaps shut as he presses past her.

He spends the next hour in the kitchen, putting away everything from the picnic and washing the crews’ dishes, because at least it gives him something to do with his hands. Jet, Vespa and Buddy are still out of the house. He’s grateful for that small mercy- he doesn’t think he could look anyone in the eye right now.

Certainly not Nureyev.

The two of them are sharing a room on the first floor, but he isn’t going to go back to that bed. He doesn’t want Nureyev to feel obligated to sleep next to him. Instead he finishes the dishes, tosses his hat aside and goes to lie down on the couch in the dark, staring up at the antique ceiling fan.

As he does, he realizes something: He never actually considered that Nureyev might say no.

It seems silly now, of course. Why wouldn’t he say no? Who would want to marry someone who’s already broken their heart once?

But while Juno is a person who doubts every good thing, there is one thing he’s never doubted, and it’s that Nureyev loves him. In many of his past relationships he tortured himself constantly over whether his partner really loved him as much as he loved them, but that’s never been the issue with Nureyev. It’s not a lack of love from the thief that he’s struggled with, but an abundance of it.

When Nureyev whispered his confession in that hotel bed, Juno believed it. That was the problem. He believed it, but he didn’t think he deserved it.

Now…he doesn’t know what to think.

He hasn’t even seen him since he walked away after the picnic. When Nureyev doesn’t want to be seen, he never is, and he clearly doesn’t want to be seen now. A part of Juno wants to turn the place upside down to find him and beg for an explanation. Another part wants to pretend this never happened at all, and that he hasn’t potentially ruined everything by overstepping.

Part of him is terrified beyond belief that Nureyev is already halfway to another planet and isn’t coming back, and part of him is terrified of what will happen if he does return.

He hasn’t voiced any of this to the other crewmembers. Even after an hour passes they still aren’t around, and he certainly doesn’t want to see any of them right now anyway.

“Mistah Steel?”

He flinches at the sound of Rita’s voice, but stays perfectly still and quiet, hoping she’ll give up and leave. She never has before, though, so of course she doesn’t this time.

“Mistah Steel, I know you ain’t asleep.”

“I don’t want to talk right now, Rita.”

She walks over and plops down on the couch next to him. “Can you at least tell me what happened?”

Juno massages his temples, sitting up. “What do you think happened? He said no.”

“Nuh-uh, Boss! That’s not possible!”

“Rita-”

“Mistah Ransom loves you more than anything in the whole wide world. I know the others have some problems with him or whatever, but even Miss Vespa doesn’t doubt _that._ Of course he wants to marry you!”

“Oh, yeah? Then why did he turn me down? Why did he look at me like I was offering him a fucking _death sentence_ instead of a ring?” Juno groans and buries his head in his hands, tugging at his hair. “I should’ve known. What intergalactic master thief would agree to being tied down to someone like me?”

“Maybe he…maybe he misheard you!”

“Rita, that’s ridiculous.”

“Look, there’s gotta be _some_ reason, ‘cause there’s no way Mistah Ransom doesn’t love you and wanna be with you always, and I think even you know that. That’s why you’re so sad right now, ‘cause you were really sure he was gonna say yes.”

“Not exactly the first time I’ve been dead wrong about something.”

“It just doesn’t make any sense,” Rita insists. “I know he wants to marry you! That’s why he made that comment about how he’d like to see you in a wedding dress again, when he saw that photo of you in your old one on my comms-”

Juno’s blood runs cold. “When he saw _what?”_

“I didn’t mean for him to see, honest! I was looking for a picture of me from the same year to show him those rainbow box braids I had, but I accidentally clicked on it. He looked real surprised. You really never-”

“No, Rita. I didn’t tell him about that time. At least…not the engagement part of it.” He swears. “Fuck. Of course. It makes sense now.”

“What does?”

“You’d have to be an idiot to get engaged to someone who already fucked up one marriage.”

“I don’t think that’s right, Mistah Steel. He didn’t seem upset or nothing when he saw it. He just said you looked beautiful, and-”

“Does it matter!? Whatever the reason is, he still doesn’t want to marry me. God, I’ve fucked everything up again. _Fuck!”_

“Mistah Steel…”

When he looks up at Rita, there are tears in her eyes. “I…Sorry. I’m sorry for yelling.”

“It’s okay, Boss. I just don’t like seeing you upset.” She pats him on the shoulder. “I don’t think you fucked it all up, though. You just gotta talk to him.”

“If he wanted to talk, he’d be here. I don’t even know where he is right now.”

“Tomorrow, then. I’m gonna get you a cup of tea and then you should go to bed early. That’s what I think.”

By the time she’s returned, tea in hand, he’s feeling calmer. Still miserable and guilty, but calmer. He sips it numbly as she sits by him, chattering about some stream of another. He knows what she’s doing: creating white noise so his brain doesn’t use the silence as an excuse to turn on him. She’s done it plenty of times in the past, and he’s always grateful for it.

By the time he’s finished his tea and let out a yawn, she seems to deem him okay enough that she can let him be. “I’m gonna go back to my marathon and finishing up the prep for the heist,” she says. “You’ll come get me if yah need me, right?”

“Yeah, Rita. I will,” he says, and he’s pretty sure he actually means it this time. “Thanks.”

“Night, Mistah Steel.”

He’d willed her to leave when she first came to talk to him, but now as he watches her walk away, a part of him wants to ask her to stay. He doesn’t, though. He’ll be all right.

He takes a deep breath and picks himself off the couch. The walk back to his and Nureyev’s room feels like a marathon, and he doesn’t know if he’s relieved or disappointed to find it empty.

He pulls off his boots, then collapses into the bed fully clothed. He doesn’t want to think about today. He doesn’t want to think about anything.

Then he rolls over and feels something hard and rectangular jutting into his side.

He takes out the little velvet box and stares at it. For a moment, he considers hurling it across the room. Instead he opens it and removes the silver band inside, rubbing a finger gently across the little stars emblazoned on its surface.

He remembers another night, two years ago now, much different than this one. He remembers Nureyev telling him, _“I’m excited to share that future with you, Juno, but only if it’s the future you want. And, if it isn’t, I’ll leave alone. For good.”_ He remembers walking out on the love of his life without so much as leaving a note when the weight of that potential future was too much for him to bear.

It’s a night they’ve talked through a thousand times before. They’ve concluded that they both made mistakes: Juno should have expressed his fears instead of just leaving, and Nureyev should have realized that it needn’t be all or nothing. That Juno being unable to leave with him didn’t mean he didn’t love him and still want to see him.

Nureyev doesn’t want to get married.

Juno doesn’t know why that is, but it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t need to know. What he needs is for Nureyev to know it’s all right that he doesn’t want to. What he needs is for Nureyev not to use being propositioned with something he isn’t ready for as an excuse to walk away, like Juno did. He needs him to stay, regardless of whether they ever get married.

It’s selfish, Juno knows. If Nureyev decides to skip town on him now…well, it’s only fair. Maybe a year ago he would have risked letting him vanish without a trace, swallowed the heartbreak like bad whiskey and carried on knowing it was what he deserved. He can’t do that now, though. Some annoying part of him not only cares about Nureyev, but also cares about _himself_ too much to let it happen.

He scours the whole house looking for Nureyev. When he runs into the others, back from their outing, he asks if they’ve seen him- and hates the sympathetic looks and head shakes he gets in return. Rita must have told them what happened, or they figured it out from the way that she’s been acting. She never was one for subtlety.

“Look, Steel.” Vespa fixes him with a hard expression after informing him that no, she hasn’t seen Ransom anywhere since sunset. “I know how much you love that thief or whatever, but-”

“Don’t,” Juno says. “If you’re going to insult him, just…don’t. He didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You deserve an explanation, Steel.”

“Yeah, well, he deserved an explanation too, when I…” He shakes his head. “I’m not mad at him for saying no. I just want to find him so I can talk to him.”

“What kind of bastard forces you to play married every other day but won’t commit to an actual ring? Asshole,” she grumbles under her breath, and he realizes with a start that she’s genuinely angry on his behalf. She doesn’t have to be, but…he can’t stop the prickle of warmth in his chest at that realization.

“Just…let me know if you see him, all right?”

“’Course,” Vespa says. She’s quiet for a moment, then adds, “If things get tense and it ends with one of you staying and one of you having to go…my vote’s for you to stay, Steel.”

He blinks. “Uh…thanks, Vespa.”

“Just know that’s only because Ransom sets the bar so low.”

“Yeah, figured.”

 _“So_ low, Steel. The bar is in the dirt. It’s literally underground. I thought you were bad enough, but your taste in men-”

“Vespa.”

“Whatever. Good luck, and…I’m sorry.”

He sees her twist the ring on her own finger, and he knows what she’s thinking. She’s imagining what it would have felt like to propose to Buddy and be turned down.

“Thanks,” he says quietly.

“Now could you get out of the way already? You’re blocking the damn door.”

“Uh, yep, sorry, see you later.”

He hurries away, taking the back door out to the trail that circles the lake. He’s almost entirely certain now that Nureyev isn’t inside the house, which means he could be…literally anywhere else.

Including waiting in line for the next shuttle off-world.

Juno pushes the thought aside.

He grips the ring box in his pocket like a lifeline as he searches the grounds. This is not going to happen again. They’re not going to be apart again.

He wants to scream it across the lake: _I don’t need to marry you. I don’t care about that; I just asked because I thought it would make you happy. Please, please, just stay._

He doesn’t scream. He keeps walking, searching for any sign of Nureyev. He’s good at disappearing, but Juno is also a good detective. Even in the darkness, he notices the places where the leaves on the ground from the sim-trees have been disturbed, and where branches have been snapped and bushes pushed aside. The damage isn’t even particularly well hidden, as though Nureyev wants to be found- or as if he was so upset when he walked out here that he didn’t bother paying attention to the trail he was leaving behind him.

The trail leads Juno to a small stream running off the lake. He follows it for several minutes until he hears the sound of crashing water. A waterfall glistens and glimmers under the beam of Juno’s comms flashlight as it cascades down the rocks into a small pool below.

Someone is sitting next to the pool, staring into it. Juno’s breath catches in his throat.

“Nureyev…”

The man looks up sharply at the sound of his name. The moonlight is programmed to be bright enough that Juno can see every inch of his face in perfect clarity.

He looks like a mess. His glasses are askew, his makeup smeared, and his hair coming undone from its gelled coif. His eyes are bloodshot and his face is blotchy like he’s been crying, and Juno has never seen anyone so beautiful. His heart aches with how badly he wants to run forward and pull him into his arms, but he resists. Nureyev came here instead of going back to the house for a reason, and if distance is what he wants, Juno’s going to give him it. What he isn’t going to allow is for him to run away without talking first.

They’re locked in a staring contest for a long moment, both unsure of how to start, before Nureyev finally looks away and mumbles something.

Juno curses himself for being unable to hear it over the sound of the waterfall. “…What was that?”

“I’m sorry,” Nureyev says again, louder this time. “I’m so sorry, Juno.”

Juno’s heart clenches in his chest. “You have nothing to be sorry for. _I’m_ the one who needs to say sorry. Can…can I come down?”

Nureyev hesitates, then nods. Juno climbs down the rocks and comes to stand beside him at the pool, cautiously reaching out to touch his elbow. He doesn’t pull away, to Juno’s relief.

“I shouldn’t have sprung that on you without talking about it first,” Juno says. “It’s okay if you don’t want to marry me.”

“It’s not a question of what I _want,_ my love,” Nureyev says, and his voice sounds choked as it leaves his mouth.

Juno furrows his brow, lost. “What do you…?”

“Of course I want to marry you. I want to marry you more than anything. I…I always have. It’s thoroughly embarrassing, but…” He pauses, a raspy laugh escaping him. “There were times, during our year apart, that I clung to that fantasy to get me through the day. I was certain that I would never see you again, but I imagined it anyway. I picked out the flowers you’d have in your bouquet. I even had a font chosen for the invitations.”

Juno’s head is spinning. “I…don’t understand. If you want to, then-”

“Historically, Juno, what I want has not always translated to what I can or… _should_ have. I allowed myself those fantasies because they were only that: A fantasy. I couldn’t…do that to you, not in reality. Not here.”

“’Here?’ You mean…on the Carte Blanche?”

Nureyev shakes his head. _“Here.”_ He waves his arms around as though that clears things up. “In this universe, in this life. If only I were someone else, if I’d made better choices…I’d marry you in a heartbeat. I need you to know that.”

“Nureyev, you know I love you. You know I don’t care about your past. We’ve been through this. If this is about you not _deserving_ me or something stupid like that, then I promise you-”

“It’s not that!” Nureyev says. “I certainly don’t deserve you either, but that’s against the point. I am a wanted criminal in millions of creds of debt, Juno. Regardless of my own selfish desires, I will not allow you to bind yourself to me. I know you have always had a tendency towards self-sabotage, but I will not allow you to, to…to anchor yourself to a sinking ship. I won’t do it.”

His voice is forceful, but his expression is that of a cornered animal, wide-eyed and scared.

“Babe…” Juno reaches out a hand to him but he pulls away, hunching his shoulders and hugging himself.

“It’s too dangerous,” he continues, much quieter now. “I’m sorry, but…I can’t. I’ve been meaning to…to offer you a way out for months now. To tell you that being with me could- no, _will_ bring you harm, and that I understand if you’d like to distance yourself, but I was too much of a coward. Too selfish. Too afraid you’d actually take me up on the offer.”

This is what Nureyev has been so nervous about- the question that’s been on the tip of his tongue. He hasn’t been trying to find the right time to propose, he’s been trying to find the right time to ask Juno if he wants to leave. Juno’s chest aches at the realization. “That’s not selfish, Nureyev.”

“It _is,”_ Nureyev says desperately. “I can’t expect you to stay with me, not considering the things I’m involved in.”

Juno lets out a laugh, which earns him a confused and affronted look. “I understand what you’re saying, Nureyev, it’s just…I’m sorry, but that so-called sinking ship of yours? I’m _already_ anchored to it.”

“Juno-”

“What, did you honestly think you weren’t stuck with me forever, whether we’re married or not? I’m not planning on leaving any time soon. We’re already bound together, Nureyev.”

“Marriage is different. I…I have no name to give you, and right now…” Nureyev closes his eyes, looking pained. “Right now if I die, at least my debts die with me. They don’t get passed on to you, or to anyone. I prefer it that way.”

“Okay, first of all, that’s irrelevant, ‘cause you’re not gonna die. Second of all…babe, you do realize we don’t have to get, like, _legally_ married, right?”

Nureyev blinks. “What?”

He looks so genuinely surprised that Juno barely manages to contain another laugh. “I don’t mind sharing your finances, no matter how…atrocious they are, but I don’t _have_ to. I just wanted to marry you because I thought you’d like the idea of having a ceremony- getting dressed up, picking out flowers, wearing rings, all of that. Calling me…your wife. But we can do all that without any actual papers. That’s kinda what I intended, anyway.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh.”

“Well, now I feel rather like a fool.”

Juno grins and takes his hands, squeezing them. “You are a fool. It’s my favorite thing about you.”

Nureyev averts his eyes. “It…still isn’t that simple, Juno. Believe me when I say that I wish to be with you until either our deaths or the heat death of the universe, but…there are things outside of my control. Things from my past that continue to haunt me. Even if you don’t bear the legal burden of my debts with me, they will still be a specter above both of us as long as we’re together. I can’t guarantee your safety.”

“When have you ever been able to?” Juno says. When Nureyev cringes, he quickly adds, “I don’t mean it like that. I don’t blame you for anything that happened with Miasma. It’s just…no one’s ever safe, right? You’ve said that yourself. Especially not people in our line of work.”

“Mm….”

“I got messed up plenty of times before I met you, and during the year we were apart. If you left right now, that wouldn’t guarantee my safety either. At least if I’m with you…we can face that danger together, right?”

“I suppose so. It just seems as though…” Nureyev chews his lip. “Right now, there’s nothing stopping you from leaving again if times become difficult. If the things I’m involved with…catch up with me. If I married you…well, I suppose I worry I’d be shackling you. Obligating you to remain with me, no matter the cost to yourself.”

“Look…I know you feel guilty about what happened two years ago, and like you gave me too much of an ultimatum back then, but that’s not what this is. I mean, you do remember that _I’m_ the one who asked _you_ to marry me, right?”

“You only asked because you thought it was what I wanted.”

“Nope. I mean, maybe the old me would have only asked you for that reason, but… _I_ asked you because I love you, and I want to be your wife. For real, not just when we’re pretending to be other people.”

“Juno, that’s…” Nureyev opens and closes his mouth several times before saying, “…Really?”

“Uh, yeah. Of course. I asked you _so_ that you wouldn’t have to doubt that I was ready and it was what I really wanted.”

He looks sheepish. “And then I doubted it anyway.”

“Yeah, well…I forgive you. Not like I didn’t already fuck us over once with my own doubts and fears about hurting you. What you’re feeling now…I’ve been there, believe me. That was…that was why I left,” Juno says. “But I don’t want to leave anymore, and I don’t think you do either, even if one of us ends up hurt as a result. I mean, forget all that bullshit for a second, Nureyev. Forget everything you’re scared of, and just tell me one thing: Do you want to be with me?”

Nureyev is quiet for a moment, his eyes bright with unshed shears, and then he says, “More than anything, Juno.”

“All right, then,” Juno says, then drops to a seat on the mossy ground beside the river without another word.

Nureyev peers at him, perplexed. “Juno?”

“That’s that. I’m staying, and so are you.”

After a long moment, Nureyev slowly sinks down next to him. He gingerly leans his head on Juno’s shoulder, and Juno puts an arm around him, rubbing gentle circles on his clavicle with his thumb.

They stay like that for a long time. No insects or animals have been imported to this particular moon, so there isn’t so much as a rustling of a bush or a chirping of a cricket to interrupt them. There’s no sound at all except for the waterfall cascading into the pool, creating a blanket of white noise in the background. It’s loud enough that Juno doesn’t hear Nureyev’s sniffles, and can only surmise that he’s crying from the gentle tremor in his shoulders and the damp patch he is currently leaving on Juno’s dress strap.

Juno keeps staring at the water as he holds him, pointedly not looking at him. He knows Nureyev doesn’t like to be seen crying, and as much as it’s something they definitely ought to work through, Juno’s willing to allow him it right now. It’s been enough of an emotionally taxing night for both of them without confronting that can of worms.

After a few minutes, Nureyev stops shaking and relaxes against Juno. They stay there a while longer, the silence no longer tense but instead calm- almost comfortable. Juno is starting to nod off when Nureyev’s voice suddenly startles him back to consciousness.

“…Juno?”

“Mm?”

“Could I…see the ring? I didn’t get a proper look at it earlier.”

“Oh. Uh, of course.” Juno pulls it out of his dress pocket and hands it over.

Nureyev opens the box and stares inside of it for a long moment. When he looks up again, his eyes are filled with tears. Juno’s heart clenches in his chest, but then Nureyev says, “Juno, it’s _beautiful.”_

Juno relaxes, feeling a little proud. “You really like it? It took me a while to pick it out.”

“You…you proposed. To me.”

“Er, yeah, that was kind of the whole thing were discussing for the past half hour-”

“Juno Steel bought me this beautiful ring, and he asked to marry me while the sun went down over one of Saturn’s moons. It’s only…everything I’ve ever dreamed of.” As he closes the box again, Juno sees his hands are trembling ever so slightly. “And I ruined it.”

“Babe, you didn’t ruin anything. You had a lot going on in your head, and I should have talked to you more beforehand, so-”

“Do it again.”

“…What?”

Nureyev is holding out the ring box towards him, a determined look in his eye. “If it’s not too much trouble, could you ask me again?”

“Uh. Right now?”

“Yes, please.”

Feeling dazed, Juno takes back the box. He stands, helps Nureyev up, and then immediately sinks to one knee on the damp grass.

He holds the box up again, and when he opens it, the silver ring seems to glow white in the moonlight. “Peter Nureyev…will you marry me?”

“Yes,” Nureyev says without a moment’s hesitation.

Juno falters. “You don’t have to. I won’t be upset, I just-”

“Damn it all, Juno, I’m saying yes.”

Nureyev drags him to his feet and pulls him into a kiss, one that’s deep and long and frantic. It isn’t only Nureyev’s cheeks that are wet with tears this time, Juno realizes. They’re both crying now, and holding each other so close, neither wanting to be the one to put an end to the moment.

Eventually, though, they have to pull apart. Nureyev keeps his hands on Juno’s face, cupping it carefully like it’s a more valuable treasure than any artifact he’s ever stolen.

“Oh, Juno…”

Juno gently removes Nureyev’s left hand from his face so that he can slide the silver band onto his finger. Juno’s approximations were correct: it fits perfectly. Nureyev holds up his hand to study it, his eyes wide and awed behind his glasses like he still can’t quite believe it.

Juno can’t quite believe it either, really. Even when he’d been certain that Nureyev was going to say yes, he’d never actually prepared himself for this- for the image of Peter Nureyev in front of him, wearing a ring that he put there, both of them knowing that soon they’re going to be husband and wife.

“Well, Rita’s gonna be happy,” he says, laughing breathlessly. “She’s been so excited about the idea of being my maid of honor.”

A sulky expression crosses Nureyev’s face. “I don’t suppose I’ll have a best man.”

“I donno. You might be able to convince Jet if you put the work in.”

“As if.”

They’re hand in hand as they walk back along the stream to the lake. Juno shoots Nureyev a small smile. “Not so unromantic after all, was it? I mean, proposing beside a waterfall by sim-moonlight isn’t exactly the same as proposing beside a lake at sim-sundown, but…”

“It was perfect, love. I’ll treasure the memory forever.”

He presses himself against Nureyev’s side, his heart beating fast and warm in his chest. He’s really going to marry this man. _Holy shit._ “So, that ceremony you used to fantasize about…how do you feel about making it a reality?”

Nureyev grimaces. “It was silly, really. It needn’t be all that. I know it isn’t exactly your style to throw some grand party where you have to be the center of attention, either, so-”

“Nureyev, if it’ll make you happy, I wanna do it. Sure, I don’t _need_ a big party, but I don’t mind one either. It could be fun.” His expression turns sly, and he says, “So…what font did you choose for those invitations, then?”

“Oh, hush.”

“Please tell me you had a three course meal all planned, too.”

“Of course I did, Juno. Don’t patronize me.”

“Color scheme?”

“It was between blue and silver and red and gold.”

“What was I wearing?”

“Well, I’m not meant to know that, am I? You’ll have to surprise me.”

Juno laughs, then sighs contentedly into his shoulder. “I’m…glad, you know. To be anchored to your ship.”

“Even if it means we might both end up at the bottom of the ocean?” Nureyev asks, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Uh-huh.” He can feel the ring on Nureyev’s finger where their hands are intertwined, and the cool metal against his skin feels like a promise of a bright future. “Rather be at the bottom of the ocean with you than anywhere else without you.”

“…Oh, Juno, how poetic.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Juno rolls his eye. “It’s not really true, anyway. I mean, I don’t wanna be without you, but I don’t really want to be at the bottom of the ocean, either, and…I don’t think we have to be. Whatever you’re so scared of, we can handle it, all right? You, me, and the rest of this family. We’re all here for you.” He can feel Nureyev tense slightly and adds, “We don’t have to talk about that right now, though. Let’s just…savor this.”

“Yes. Yes, I think I’d like to do that.”

“Well, according to my comms it’s past midnight, so what do you say to going to sleep for a solid eight hours next your new fiancée, all right?”

“Fiancée…” Nureyev repeats quietly to himself.

“Uh-huh. Get used to saying that.”

“I look forward to it immensely.”

They reach the house a moment later. All the lights are off inside, but the blue glow of a comms screen is emanating from one of the bedrooms, where Rita must be up late still watching her marathon. Juno smiles and moves to open the door, but pauses at a tug on his hand. Nureyev has stopped walking and is chewing his lip thoughtfully.

“What’s up, babe?” Juno asks, turning back to him.

“Nothing. I just…thank you, Juno.”

He snorts. “For what? Proposing to you? It’s not really a favor-”

“For proposing to me _twice._ For giving me a…second chance.”

“Hey, you gave me a second chance. It’s only fair, right?”

“I mean it, Juno-”

“So do I,” Juno says. “I’m not upset with you, Nureyev. I wouldn’t have been upset with you even if you’d ended up turning me down. I just wouldn’t want you to say no for the wrong reasons. So…I’m glad we talked.”

Nureyev laughs thickly. “You’re very good to me, Juno Steel,” he says, but then suddenly stiffens, a strange look crossing his face.

“…What is it now?” Juno asks, his tone walking a tightrope between teasing and worried.

“It’s just…what are we meant to do about surnames?”

 _“That’s_ what you’re looking so worried about?!”

“You can’t very well take mine,” Nureyev says indignantly. “It’s a genuine concern!”

“Well, you’re sure as hell not taking mine, either.”

He looks disappointed momentarily, but says, “Of course, love, I know your family name doesn’t necessarily carry the best connotations for you-”

“Yeah, that too, but the main problem is that no one’s gonna take a thief named _Peter Steel_ seriously,” Juno points out.

Nureyev stares at him blankly for a moment, and then a bubble of laughter erupts from his throat with the force of someone letting out a breath that they’ve been holding for too long. It really isn’t that funny, Juno notes, but he finds himself laughing too, infected by Nureyev’s mirth. It isn’t actually about the name, after all- it’s a laughter of bone deep relief and happiness after such an emotionally charged evening.

“Mistah Steel? Is that you? Why are you making so much noise out there? Some of us are trying to sleep, yah know! I mean, I’m not, but I reckon the others are, and you’re gonna wake up the whole-”

Rita opens the front door, dressed in her footie pajamas and with her comms earpiece still in, rubbing her eyes. She stops when she sees them both there, mouth dropping open.

“Mistah Steel! You found Mistah Ransom!”

“Uh-huh,” Juno slings his arm around Nureyev’s shoulder. Any buzz he might have gotten from the wine at the picnic has definitely worn off by now, but he still feels drunk anyway, drunk with joy and love and the promise of a future married to Peter Nureyev. “He wasn’t too far off. Just sulking by the water.”

She looks back and forth between them, eyes huge. “You…you sure look happy. What…”

Nureyev grins and holds up his hand, where the silver band glitters on his ring finger.

Rita is frozen for a moment, and Juno can practically see the progress bar in her brain moving as she processes what she’s seeing before immediately letting out the loudest shriek he’s ever heard come from a human mouth.

 _“MISTAH RANSOOOOOM!”_ she yells, jumping up and down. “Oh, I knew you would come around! Does this mean I get to be the maid of honor after all?! When is it happening? Is it happening soon? I got some great ideas for venues, so if you need any recommendations-”

Juno snorts. “You and Ransom can work together on that one. He’s had the flowers for the ceremony planned for years, apparently.”

“Mistah Steel, I’m so happy I could cry! Oh man, now I actually _am_ crying! You gotta throw a bouquet, right, ‘cause I gotta catch it so I can get in on all this marriage stuff too-”

Before she can finish, a window slams open on the second floor. A green-haired head pokes out and growls, “It’s one in the fucking morning, by the way. _Some of us_ are trying to sleep.”

“I’m sorry Miss Vespa!” Rita says, waving at her. “Except I ain’t really sorry at all because I’m just so excited! Mistah Ransom and Mistah Steel are getting _married!”_

The anger on Vespa’s face flickers slightly and she squints at Juno for confirmation. “That right, Steel?”

“Yeah,” Juno says, as Nureyev holds up his hand again. “Yeah, it is. Turns out we just needed to talk.”

Vespa makes a noise of distaste at that, but he swears that he sees a ghost of a smile on her face as she pulls her head back inside. “Whatever. Just lower the volume, will you?” She closes the window, but they can still hear her muffled voice as she returns to bed, saying, “It’s nothing, Bud. Those two idiots just finally got engaged, I guess.”

Rita giggles and turns back to Nureyev and Juno. “You gotta tell me everything! Where did it happen?! Did you cry?!”

“Tomorrow, Rita,” Juno says. “I’ll tell you everything tomorrow.”

She sticks out her tongue at him, but says, “Fiiiiiine.”

“Vespa made a very good point about it being one in the morning,” Nureyev says. “We all could use our beauty rest tonight.”

“Says the guy who’s always up at four in the morning,” Juno grumbles.

Before they part ways to their respective bedrooms, Rita pulls Juno aside and pats him on the elbow. “I’m real happy for you Mistah Steel. For both of you. I’m glad you figured things out.”

“Yeah,” he says. “Yeah, Rita, I am too.”

“Mistah Ransom was just talking about the name thing too, so just so you know, if you need a new last name and can’t think of one…” She fixes him with as serious a look as someone who’s wearing unicorn footie pajamas can hope to muster. “…You can always use mine.”

Juno feels a rush of surprise and affection flood his chest. “Holy shit, Rita, that’s…I mean, I’d have to talk to Ransom about it, but…thank you.”

“Don’t mention it, boss.”

It’s only when she’s halfway down the hallway that he realizes something.

“Rita- hey, Rita come back! Rita, _what’s your last name?!”_

Her bedroom door clicks shut without a response. He stands in the foyer, shaking his head, until Nureyev gently slips his arm in his and leads him back to their bedroom.

He knows, as he lies beside the man who’s going to be his husband, that this doesn’t fix everything. He knows that whatever dark cloud is hanging over Nureyev’s head and making him so afraid won’t magically disappear just because of a ring on a finger, nor will any of their flaws or the mistakes they’ve made throughout their relationship. The road behind them is long, and the road ahead is even longer.

At least they’ll be walking that road together, though, and right now- just for moment- the world is a little bit lighter because Juno Steel proposed to Peter Nureyev and Peter Nureyev said _yes._

**Author's Note:**

> Yaaaaay, marriage! haha. Told you it'd end happily. Hope you enjoyed, and as always you can follow on tumblr @prydon and twitter @prydonn, and comments and kudos are SO SO appreciated.


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